The hardest part
by bluemimosa
Summary: The double life, the lies, the constant suspense, that was the easy part. She still had everyone she loved. There was a part of Julie that realized it. That selfishly wanted the war to go on forever because there was no way for her to get to the end unscathed.
1. Chapter 1

The double life, the lies, the constant suspense, that was the easy part. She still had everyone she loved. There was a part of Julie that realized it. That selfishly wanted the war to go on forever because there was no way for her to get to the end unscathed. But the fragile balance of her life was tipping. She had made the choice long ago and now she had to face the consequences.

The hardest part was watching her father go insane. She told him he was being paranoid and secretly knew he wasn't paranoid enough. When he still couldn't conquer Motorcity he had started cracking down on Deluxe. He began cutting off what little freedom there was there. He Imposed curfews, rationing, and drafts. He started diverting resources from infrastructure maintenance to build more drone factories. There came a point when she realized she could no longer wait for him to come to his senses—there might not be anything left by then.

The hardest part was realizing it had to be her. They couldn't just remove the man who had ruled the city for almost two decades unquestioned and expect the people to spontaneously hold elections. She could provide a sense of continuity and forestall the chaos. An outsider would be too disruptive; an inside would keep things too much the same. If she wanted a better Deluxe, a more humane one, she would have to build it herself.

The hardest part was telling her friends. It had to come out sooner or later. They were planning for the future and it would make everything simpler. Chuck had noticed the major flaw in the Burner's plan—just taking down Kane would not make his armies and bots disappear. This started an argument with Mike convinced most people in Deluxe were decent, Dutch taking a more pessimistic approach and Texas believing everything could solved by punching.

She took a deep breath. "I can take over KaneCo," she said softly. She might as well have shouted it. The argument immediately stopped and everyone stared at her.

Mike broke the silence. "Don't get me wrong that would be great but how is it even an option?"

"That's the thing—Kane's setting it up that I succeed him if anything happens," she replied. He nodded like this wasn't entirely unexpected.

Dutch was still skeptical. "Why would he do that?"

She fought to keep her voice steady. "Because I'm his daughter."

And they were back to shocked silence, a temporary calm before the inevitable storm.

The hardest part was listening to the last message her father left her. He warned her that the rebels had seized KaneCo and told her to lay low until he could take it back. He had loved her and underestimated her to the end. He had taken the time to try and contact her in the middle of a battle and she hadn't answered because she was too busy taking over his company.

They never found a body which wasn't unexpected given the extent of the explosion. He had been given the chance to surrender when his warpod was crippled. She was saddened but not surprised that he chose to crash instead. If her father had been more willing to compromise the history of the city would have been different.

At least she could put off the funeral. She wasn't ready to sort out her own complex feelings toward the man let alone take into consideration everyone else's. Maybe if they'd been able to put him trial the way Mike had always wanted to there would have been a cleaner break. As it was there were still many people who didn't think Abraham Kane had done anything wrong.

In the end she'd had a small plaque installed with just his name and the dates. No description. What could she say? Father? Visionary? Tyrant?

* * *

**Author's note:** this is a sequel to Things you aren't supposed to know. There will be four chapters. The next one should be up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

The hardest part was having to be strong all the time. Not only because a leader shouldn't show weakness but because there simply wasn't time. Her father had designed Deluxe so it couldn't function without his regular input. No wonder Father-Daughter days had been so rare growing up.

She had a momentary sense of deja vu when she told to Claire that it wasn't that she didn't want to go shopping it was just that she had too many things to do. Unlike her father in those situations she actually explained why. "The whole system is set up so one person makes all the important decisions. Dad stocked the company with yes men and systematically punished or weeded out anyone who disagreed with him or showed ambition."

Claire looked puzzled at that. "So how did Mike slip by?"

"I think by that point Dad was looking for a successor."

"Were you jealous?"

"Of the attention but I never had any desire to run things." Julie replied being very careful not to look at Claire's face. Claire would be sympathetic and Julie couldn't handle sympathy right now. It would only make her break down. "Anyway," she continued in a brisk tone "Once I figure out who I can trust I'll be able to start delegating some things."

"You'd better. Just remember you already have people you can trust. We might not know anything about running a company but we still care about you."

Chuck came into her office looking faintly green. "I broke the encryptions on those files" he said but he made no move to open them. Instead he shifted his weight uneasily from foot to foot. She recognized the apologetic tone and mannerisms. The guys had used them when they first found out about her relationship to Kane. As if they didn't really want to speak ill of her father to her. As if she didn't already know what he was.

She brought up the database with the newly unlocked files and Chuck spoke again. "I don't think he wanted you to see this. I don't think he wanted anyone to see this."

She opened the first file with trepidation. _Oh Dad, what did you do?_

The hardest part was the guilt. Her father had said he did everything for her. And _everything_ had involved some horrible things. She didn't know how many more secrets she could take. She was jolted out of her dark thoughts when security buzzed in to let her know her visitor had arrived.

"I've got the original blueprints and my old files. Let's see what we can figure out." Jacob looked absurdly out of place in the pristine office. It was hard to believe he'd ever worked here. "I also brought you some of my special plankton loaf, I figure you could use the extra energy." He added reaching into his bag and pulling out a food container.

"Oh, that's really nice of you but I had breakfast at seven and it's only," she glanced at the display on her desk, "uh, four. All right hand it over."

It actually didn't taste half bad. Maybe hunger was the secret to making Jacob's food palatable. And because she had to know worst she asked, "Did he really do all this for me?"

There was a pause while she finished eating and Jacob spread some blueprints out on the table. Finally he said, "At the beginning it was to make a safe place, you don't realize what the world was like outside then. But in the end it became more about control. That's when I left. If you look at the original plans there are parks and roads and all sorts of other things that got cut." He stared out at the city "Deluxe isn't what it was supposed to be."

She recognized the look in his eyes, the I-should-have-done-more look. Other people's guilt wasn't any easier to take than her own.

The hardest part was having to worry about everyone and not just in an abstract sense like she used to. It wasn't as simple as just opening the doors between the two worlds. Deluxians had been taught for years to fear hordes of undercity dwellers invading and Motorcitzens had actual memories of armed patrols on their streets. There would have to be some rules. So she found herself back in Motorcity for the first time since the peace treaty. This time she hadn't come alone.

She looked around the room at the various gang leaders and KaneCo executive staff members. It reminded her of introducing Claire to the Burners for the first time only now there was so much more at stake than just her social life. What was the most diplomatic way to say "You're all wonderful people. Please, please, please be on your best behavior and try not to tick each other off"?

She wasn't able to do as much as she wanted as fast as she wanted. It turned out that in a city with thousands of people and not a single farm food cubes really were necessary to keep everyone fed. She did what she could. The new regulations like the curfew were the first to go. She even rescinded the mandatory dress code.

When her directors met with her the next day Mr. Larsen was wearing a ratty tweed sport coat over his unitard. Maybe it had actually been in style thirty years and twenty pounds ago but she doubted it. He beamed at her. "This is my favorite jacket; I never thought I'd have the chance to wear it again."

"Uh, that's great." She said. It was good that people were finally making their own choices even if one of those choices was to wear wool in August.

The hardest part was realizing that her father's lessons were actually coming in handy. There were things he had taught her that she had to use to keep KaneCo running smoothly. After a meeting one of the department heads stopped her and said "I'll admit I had my doubts about a young girl running the company but while you have a different style you definitely inherited your father's ability to get people to do things."

He probably meant it as a compliment but it kept her up that night. She wondered what else she might have inherited.

She was still thinking about it days later. She was back at the Burner garage, siting at the counter and talking to Mike. They'd done this hundreds of times before. She could almost pretend it was old times and she was just a burner/intern. If only she wasn't asking for advice on what to do with the army. Now that there was no longer a war a large standing army didn't seem like a good idea, however a suddenly unemployed army seemed like an even worse one. After the conversation winded down she just kept sitting at the bar, not wanting to leave.

Finally Mike asked "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

She kept her tone light as if it was a joke, but her intent was serious. "Just . . . keep an eye on me okay? If I show signs of becoming a megalomaniac dictator let me know. And if I don't listen . . . well, you know what to do."

When she met his eyes they were just as serious as hers. "Only if you do the same for me."

A thousand things ran through her brain at this point. This was Mike, how could he think that? But then fears weren't always rational

"Deal"

Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

There came a day came when her life no longer seemed impossible. It was still difficult but it was becoming more manageable. Every new task no longer felt like the hardest thing. Maybe she could actually do this.

Julie began assembling an advisory committee. Her plan was to slowly give them more power—create a city council and ease herself into obsolesce. She could see it in her mind. She just didn't know how long it would take to actually get there. In the mean time she actually needed the help running the company. Her father may have done it alone but she hadn't built KaneCo from the ground up and she was still learning how things worked.

First she had to find people she could trust. She started with the supervisor from her internship who had impressed Julie with her sense of fairness. She got Tooley to remember employees who had disagreed with Abraham Kane for the good of Deluxe and tracked them down. She turned to people she had known since she was child and people she was just meeting now. She couldn't pull off her father's cult of personality or physical intimidation but she was smart, she listened and she actually cared—she hoped that would be enough.

The problem with actually listening to people was they had a lot to say. One of her tech interns was working on developing a reliable communication networks between the two levels. Peter had gotten the job when he proved willing to go down to Motorcity and work with people there. Unfortunately for him in practice he'd become more like her receptionist. The meeting had started with him going over the work he was doing with Chuck to try and boost the signals but ended with passing on the many messages he'd picked up while he was there.

"Tell Junior he can contact Wilkins in advertising about putting up posters for his race but I am not announcing it on a broadcast. " She rubbed her forehead and hoped that was the right decision.

Peter made a note and said "Okay, that's the last of your messages. I know things are really busy but can I take the weekend off? There's this athletic competition and exhibit of historical warfare techniques down in Motorcity that I'd like to go to."

"Of course, have fun"

It wasn't until after he had left that she figured out he was talking about Raymanthea.

She had weekend plans too. Claire had called her up a few days before. Her friend was wearing a unitard but this one was tinted lavender instead of light blue. She was also very excited about something. "Guess what? Claire asked and then rushed on without giving Julie time to guess.

"I'm throwing a party. I'm inviting the Amazons and some friends and we can have real food and great music and everyone can see that some Motorcitzens are really cool and not all Deluxians are thugs. And you have to come. You can even count it as a diplomatic something or other. "

Julie smiled at that. "That's a great idea, Claire. I'll be there."

"You'd better. Now can you think of anything interesting to do in Deluxe?"

There was a meeting between representatives of the Cablers and some of the KaneCo engineers about use and upkeep of the cables. The idea had been that the Cablers could provide the routine maintenance as a kind of "rent" and the engineers would leave the cables and them alone. Some of the Cablers, like Bracket, were resistant to the idea but Tennie pointed out that it was in no one's best interest if the power went out. An older Cabler with a burn zigzagging up his arm brought up that it would be good to know exactly what was running through the cables before they tried to tap them. In the end everyone reached a tentative agreement.

As the meeting was breaking up Tennie came over. "I'm sorry my Dad went off like that, he can be stubborn."

Julie nodded "I understand. At least he listens to you."

It wasn't until Tennie gently put an arm around her shoulders and turned them both so they were looking out the window that Julie realized she was crying.

"Are you okay?"

Julie shrugged. "I just wish I could have gotten my father to listen to me."

Tennie tactfully steered the conversation to other areas allowing Julie to wipe her eyes and compose herself. "This is my first time seeing Deluxe, at least that I can remember. It's very . . . square."

"You should stay at least until sun set. That's something worth seeing."

Julie starred at impatiently at the tunnel going by. It took so long to get to Motorcity this way. She missed driving but she had the heads of the retail and merchandising with her. She knew from experience that most of her board members were still freaked out by cars. So they had taken the modified transport pod from Deluxe with everyone else.

She had just finished letting the agent know that she had no weapons or undeclared produce when a call came in from the one the research departments. There had been an assembly line malfunction. She quickly got the status of the situation.

"So there were no causalities? Just broken machines?"

"Well there were some minor injuries but they're being treated." The rotund blonde man looked very nervous like he expected to be blamed for something.

Julie sighed; she didn't want to cancel the meeting. It could wait until she got back or . . .

"Why don't you handle it?"

"Me?" he squeaked.

"Sure, you're familiar with the equipment, you've worked with the department and I trust your judgment." She knew from his records he was more concerned with safety than making quota.

He looked shocked, flattered and more than a little apprehensive.

Maybe she should put up a sign her office: Under new management. Over 200 days without a flogging.

She looked around at the Motorcity entrance checkpoint. Technically the upcoming meeting with the Merchants association of Motorcity was to work out joint commerce opportunities but it looked like some Motorcitzens were getting a head start. There was a truck selling fried food cubes, a souvenirs of Motorcity stand and a limo promising safe luxury tours for an exorbitant price.

There were also a variety of tourists and commuters disembarking from the transport pod or queuing up to get on for the trip back to Deluxe. People had begun seeking their own balance between security and freedom.


	4. Chapter 4

It was important that something good could be made out of Detroit Deluxe so that all the pain and effort on both sides wouldn't be just wasted. And somehow it mattered to Julie personally. It was her home, her fault, and her responsibility. She felt that if she could fix it then maybe that meant her father was a man who had a good idea and had gone wrong along the way rather than someone who was completely wrong the whole time.

Even the landscape was changing. Farmers from Motorcity who wanted to try sunlight instead of grow lamps and had teamed up with Deluxians who wanted to see something green again. The science division had figured out how to handle irrigation and the community garden was finally open. She came out for the planting day.

Jacob had staked out a plot early on. Texas was carrying over trays of tomato seedlings and he kept glancing up. Did he think she might have somehow forgotten about some stray enforcer drones? She went to check out the other plots. When she circled back Jacob was planting and Texas looked like he was standing watch.

She might regret it, but she had to ask. "Why are you so jumpy Texas? There's nothing around. There's not even cloud in the- wait a minute are you freaked out about the sky?

He managed to look indignant even as he never stopped scanning the horizon. "Listen little lady, Texas isn't afraid of anyone or anything. Now let's finish this garden and get somewhere with a roof."

Julie met Dutch outside the Safe-T glass factory. She was a little disappointed Roth hadn't come but she couldn't blame the bot for avoiding Deluxe.

She could almost see the wheels turning in Dutch's head as he looked at the wide blank wall. However all he said was "You realize this is the very thing that got me arrested the first time?"

She said "I just thought it would be nice if every part of the city didn't look exactly the same. Besides, you have permission so that makes it a public art installation."

He laughed "That would be nice. I have less time to work on art now than back when I was dodging Kane bots."

"What's going on in Motorcity?" she asked. He would agree to the project she knew but only after he'd vented.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Man, how naïve were we thinking we could win a rebellion and go back to our normal lives? Now we have to worry about the infrastructure and the fact that half the gangs are running protection rackets. Plus with you up here all the time I'm stuck being the voice of reason for the Burners and you know what an uphill battle that can be."

After a few fights and at least one group of lost tourists, the leaders of Motorcity had gotten together and to map out which areas were relatively safe and which should be considered enter at your own risk. Julie was there with some representatives of Deluxe. She was relieved that the head of her security force had taken the fights so well. No one wanted to open up hostilities again, especially not for young guys who'd gone looking for trouble. In fact the biggest problem had been when the Duke had tried to claim all previously unexplored areas. He'd been quickly shut done by the other gang leaders. All in all the meeting had gone well.

After giving instructions to the head of her tourism commission to make sure the new map was posted she called her office to see what she had scheduled for the rest of the day. Peter answered and told her that she had no appointments until tomorrow morning. She stared at him blankly and asked "are you sure? This meeting was only supposed to run until 2."

He nodded. "Yeah, Chuck told me you could use some free time this afternoon so I shifted some things around. Oh, and Larsen offered to cover the meeting with the internal auditing department. He said there's no reason both of you should be bored to death."

She signed off feeling even more confused. Then she noticed that Mike had broken off his conversation with Rayon and was headed her way. He tossed something shiny at her. "Think fast, Jules!"

Instinctively she reached up and caught it. She opened her hand to reveal her spare set of car keys. The ones she kept at the garage. Things were starting to make sense.

"What did you do to 9Lives?" she asked.

Mike grinned at her. "He's out back. And I didn't do anything. Dutch, on the other hand, added some modifications."

"That seems like the kind of things I should try out." She replied, wondering when the guys had gotten so good at planning ahead.

"If we head over to the test track now we should get there before Tex gets back with the pizza. That is unless you've gotten rusty." He teased.

She laughed at that. "You're on!"

Maybe things wouldn't be so hard forever.

* * *

**Authors note: Thanks for reading. **


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